Viola Calligaris at Juventus Women 2023/24 : How she can fit and what she can add to the Bianconere – tactical analysis

Viola Calligaris is an international Swiss player who has just joined Juventus Women on loan until the end of the season, coming from PSG, the team with which she has a contract that lasts until 2025. That said, doing well at Juventus would help Calligaris attract more attention from Juventus and perhaps other big Italian teams like Inter, Roma, and AC Milan. More importantly, putting on some convincing performances during this period would convince PSG of her abilities, and possibly give her a more central chance with the team next season when her loan period finishes.

Therefore, Calligaris has got a big chance to prove her worth at Juventus, and even though the time she has might be a bit problematic for her to ensure a successful adaptation process with the Bianconere and be able to perform at her best, Calligaris has got what it takes to challenge for a starting spot and help Juventus reach their seasonal targets while showcasing her abilities to everyone.

Calligaris started her footballing career in 2012 at SC Kriens in Switzerland before moving to BSC YB Frauen shortly after and playing for several seasons with one of the best teams in Switzerland. In 2017, however, she had her first ever experience outside Switzerland when she went to Spain to play for Atlético Madrid for two seasons prior to joining Valencia for one season and then Levante from 2020 to 2023. In June 2023, PSG signed the Swiss international until 2025, and now they loaned her to Juventus.

These various experiences in different countries have undoubtedly helped Calligaris become more mature and adaptable. This would serve her a lot in her new Italian journey as she is expected to adapt quickly to Serie A Femminile environment and Juventus, especially when taking into consideration that the Spanish league is a bit similar to the Italian one, which represents an advantage for Calligaris to win adaptation time.

In this tactical analysis and scout report, we will be studying Calligaris’ profile to assess her defensive and attacking abilities, possible improvements and how she can fit into Juventus’ tactics. The analysis will also aim to explore the Swiss international’s most remarkable traits and the positions/roles she can occupy without neglecting the comparison between her and the Juventus players currently vying for game time in her position.

Positions and roles

Calligaris is a defender who masters two positions: the right centre-back and the right-back. She has been alternating between these two positions for a long time and whenever needed without issues while being completely aware of the differences between the required roles of both positions. This highlights her tactical maturity and shows that she is an intelligent player.

Although she is 1.67 meters in terms of height, which is not really a desirable height for a centre-back, Calligaris was still successful in putting on solid performances as a centre-back whenever needed, whether at Switzerland or with the teams she played for.

At the same time, she is a speedy player who finds herself comfortable on the right flank and does not fear duels, as she can dribble very well near the touchline. With 68.7% successful dribbles per game, we can confirm that Calligaris is definitely an excellent dribbler and can become even more crucial with her dribbles in Serie A since opponents do not know her skills yet. She will have the opportunity to surprise them.

Nevertheless, she will have to be prepared for more physical disturbance and more aggression in duels, as taking this into consideration would help her adapt quicker and perhaps avoid unnecessary actions in specific situations.

Her roles at Juventus might vary depending on the situation, as head coach Joe Montemurro can use her as a right-back, as a right centre-back or even as a right-winger if there will be a need to play with a more defensive line-up, for instance. This experiment might suit Calligaris as she does not really lack attacking traits and can develop in this regard if used in such a position as it would oblige her to make more crosses and penetrations per game as well as more pressing attempts per match.

At the same time, playing as a right-back or as a centre-back would involve participating in numerous defensive duels and aerial duels per game, marking direct opponents, participating in the build-up, providing key passes between the lines, moving as a unit according to the defensive bloc and more.

This heatmap shows that apart from playing in her team’s own half, Calligaris has also tried moving towards the left side and can advance to the final third when needed, whether on the right or the left wing.

Possible playing time at Juventus

At a team where Montemurro often prefers the 4-2-3-1 or the 4-3-3 formation, Calligaris has got more chances to compete for a starting spot as a right-back and not really as a centre-back since Montemurro have got a lot of excellent choices for the centre-back positions, namely: Sara Gama, Estelle Cascarino, Linda Sembrant and Cecilia Salvai whereas the right-back position is often held by Martina Lenzini and her replacement is Federica Cafferata who represents a good alternative but not really in the standards of someone like Calligaris at the moment.

Therefore, Calligaris is believed to have started her experience at Juventus as a backup for Lenzini as a right-back and perhaps not just a backup option but rather a “squad player” who shares the number of games with Lenzini. Calligaris will, therefore, have to prove her worth to Montemurro as soon as possible in order to turn into a starting right-back instead of Lenzini if she succeeds in convincing him with her performances.